


How to Say Goodbye and Mean It

by AGayBee



Category: Transformers Animated (2007)
Genre: Angst, Bittersweet Ending, Canon Compliant, Established Relationship, Forbidden Love, Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Sort Of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-09
Updated: 2018-11-06
Packaged: 2019-07-28 05:41:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16235312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AGayBee/pseuds/AGayBee
Summary: Bumblebee knew this would eventually come back to bite him in the aft. He just didn't expect it to hurt this bad.





	1. Chapter 1

Bumblebee didn’t really understand why the universe hated him. He was forged in this tiny, puny frame, constantly picked on through all of his sparkling-hood, kicked out of bootcamp and put on space bridge duty, only to end up crash landing on some random planet and suddenly expected to be a hero. As if all of that wasn’t enough, the universe gave him Blitzwing.

The first few times Bumblebee fought Blitzwing, he hadn’t really thought much of him besides the obvious ‘hey, you’re a big and scary Decepticon’, and that’s how it should’ve stayed. They were enemies, after all; Bee was an Autobot and Blitzwing was a Decepticon. They were supposed to hate each other. Of course, fate had different plans for Bumblebee.

Nowadays, Bumblebee could barely even recall the first time they had met one-on-one. Bee had been out on a patrol when he came across Blitzwing. He still wasn’t sure exactly _how_ it had happened, but Blitzwing got stuck under a bunch of rubble, unable to free himself. Bumblebee knew he should’ve called for backup so they could capture Blitzwing, but after just staring at the defenseless bot for a few more nanokliks, Bee took a completely different course of action. He took pity on the poor ‘con and freed him. Bumblebee expected to regret what he had done, but Blitzwing didn’t do anything. He murmured what sounded like a ‘thank you’ and took off. The whole experience left Bee with a weird feeling in his spark chamber.

That should have been end of it, but _noooo_ , Bumblebee had to run into Blitzwing again. It was just the two of them, and Bumblebee was expecting to be crushed like a bug… but Blitzwing didn’t do anything. The Decepticon said something about the fact that he “owed” Bee for freeing him, so he decided not to capture and/or kill him. Bumblebee spat out some stupid joke. Blitzwing laughed and replied with his own joke. Bee laughed and cracked another joke. The cycle continued until there was an awkward lull in the conversation and they both left.

Somehow, Bee ran into Blitzwing _again_ , by himself, and once more, they didn’t try to kill each other. It ended up happening rather frequently- maybe once a week, or a little bit less- and somewhere in one of those meetings, Bumblebee learned that the area they kept meeting up in was Blitzwing’s safe haven from Lugnut when he got a little too preachy and/or pissy for Blitzwing to handle. Bumblebee also found the area peaceful and a good retreat from the worries of the world. It was on the outskirts of town in the woods where the rest of his team rarely bothered to patrol.

They ended up forming an unspoken rule to not bring up any Autobot-Decepticon stuff when they hung out. Bumblebee liked talking to Blitzwing about other things- _normal_ things that you’d talk to any other bot about. He wasn’t interested in trying to covertly pry Decepticon information from Blitzwing. He didn’t want to try to follow Blitzwing home some night to figure out where his base was. That wasn’t what Bumblebee wanted to do, and the feeling seemed to be mutual. They both just wanted a bit of company- Blitzwing especially, it seemed. Bee got along well with his team and Sari, but all Blitzwing had was Lugnut, Megatron, and the occasional Starscream whenever he showed his ugly mug. According to Blitz, he wasn’t exactly close with any of them and they didn’t exactly get along well. He was a younger bot who wasn’t as war-motivated as his fellow Decepticons were. Right now, it seemed all Blitzwing wanted was a friend. Even though he knew it was stupid and irresponsible, Bumblebee was happy to be that friend.

After Megatron had disappeared with Omega Supreme, Blitzwing had been able to hang out with Bumblebee more, as he wasn’t as tethered to his Decepticon duties as much. Bumblebee had enjoyed seeing Blitzwing more, especially since things had been so stressful recently… but one night, Blitzwing didn’t show up. Bee thought it was a little odd since he had just been able to hang out more, but he was sure Blitzwing had a reason. But then he didn’t show up the next night. Or the next night. Or for the next week. Bumblebee had no idea what was going on, and he couldn’t decide if he was more worried or pissed about it. Blitzwing was a Decepticon, after all. Maybe he just finally realized that what they were doing was stupid.

Bumblebee had been watching TV with Sari and Bulkhead one night when Optimus and Prowl had returned from patrolling with Sentinel and Jazz. Bee spared them a glance, but looked back at them when he realized how stressed they seemed. Ratchet seemed to notice too and approached them.

“Everything alright?” the medic asked.

“I’m not sure,” Optimus admitted, his face reflecting his worry.

“Sentinel captured one of the Starscream clones tonight,” Prowl said. “And then told us that he’s captured Swindle and Blitzwing as well.”

Bumblebee felt his spark twist.

The others continued talking, but Bumblebee was too caught up in his thoughts now to pay attention. So _that’s_ where Blitzwing was. He hadn’t randomly decided to stop seeing Bumblebee. He hadn’t forgot about him. He had been captured by the Elite Guard. That was… that was weird to think about.

Bumblebee always knew that something like this might happen. Blitzwing was a Decepticon- he was bound to get captured or killed by Autobots at some point. Bumblebee had convinced himself that when it eventually happened, he wouldn’t care, and that if anything, it’d be a relief. He told himself that his meetings with Blitzwing didn’t matter to him and were just some weird way to blow off steam… but that didn’t seem to be the case.

It was all Bee could think about. He didn’t like that this upset him so much but it _did_ . It kept him up at night, and haunted him during the day. Bumblebee tried to keep his feelings trapped inside his processor. He didn’t want his team knowing that he was upset because that would lead to them finding out about his… relationship- _Primus_ , he didn’t even really know what to _call_ it- with Blitzwing. He’d end up being shipped off to the stockades with Blitzwing and the other Decepticons if they found out.

Bee had done a passable job at hiding it for a while. He had even managed to hold it together through the incident with Wasp- er, _Waspinator_ , now, he supposed- which _really_ hadn’t helped his already emotionally fragile state. It was only when Sentinel announced they’d be leaving that Bumblebee finally broke.

Sentinel had told them that they’d been leaving in a day or two. Everyone else simply nodded and acknowledged the notion, but Bumblebee nearly burst out sobbing right then and there. He managed to keep it together on the ship and on the way home, but he was still panicking all the while. In just the matter of a few nights, Blitzwing would be gone for good. There had been something comforting about the fact that the Decepticon was st least still on Earth with him, but soon he wouldn’t be, and Bumblebee could barely fathom the thought of it.

When they got back to the plant, Bumblebee frantically transformed and immediately tried to head for his quarters.

“Hey, buddy?” It was Bulkhead. Bumblebee hesitantly stopped and looked back at him. “You alright?”

“Yeah?” Bumblebee cautiously replied, raising an optic ridge at him. “I’m fine.”

“You were just really quiet back there, and on the way home,” Bulkhead said. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“You’ve been real quiet in general for the past decacycle,” Ratchet pointed out.

“Don’t you guys usually consider that a _good_ thing?” Bumblebee retorted. That came out way more aggressive than he had intended.

“We’re just worried about you, Bumblebee,” Prowl gently said. He approached him and placed a servo on his shoulder. “I know things have been… tough, lately. We’re here for you if you need to talk to us about anything.”

Bumblebee pulled away from Prowl’s touch. “Like I said, I’m fine! Totally, one-hundred percent, perfectly fine! I don’t need to talk about anything because I’m _fine_!”

He stormed away before anyone else could say anything. Bee could feel coolant gathering in his optics which only made him rush to his room faster. He barreled into his quarters and onto his berth, making sure to shut the door behind him. Bumblebee buried his face into his berth and groaned.

“Bumblebee?”

It was Optimus. He had made sure to slam his door shut, but not to lock it. Slaggit.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Bee exclaimed, not bothering to look back at the Prime.

Bumblebee heard Optimus carefully close the door behind him and make his way over to his berth. He felt the weight of it shift as Optimus sat down next to him.

“Go away,” Bee muttered, still refusing to look at him.

“I’m not leaving until I figure out what’s wrong,” Optimus told him. “Listen, like Prowl said, we know things have been more than difficult recently. I know that the stuff with Sari has been a lot, I know that having Sentinel around has been stressful, and I’m sure that incident with Wasp has been tough on you, too. If it’s any of that- or something else- I’m here for you, and so are the others. Talking about it will make you feel a lot better than just keeping it bottled up.”

Bee hesitantly looked up and over his shoulder at him, reluctantly meeting his gaze. “For the last time: _I’m fine_.”

“If you were actually ‘fine’, you wouldn’t be so defensive about it,” Optimus simply said.

Bee started sobbing.

There was a nanoklik between Bee breaking down and Optimus suddenly pulling him into a tight hug. Bumblebee was too busy crying to really reciprocate the embrace, but he did appreciate the gesture. Optimus hushed him and pulled him closer, clearly trying his hardest to comfort his teammate, but Bumblebee was inconsolable.

“Bee, please, try to take some deep vents,” Optimus said. Bumblebee hated how soft and comforting his voice was. “It’s okay. I’m here for you.”

“Y-you’re gonna throw me in the stockades,” Bumblebee managed to choke out.

“ _What?_ ” Optimus managed to pry Bee off of himself so he could look him in the optics. “Bumblebee, I would never do that, and neither would any of the others. What makes you think any of us would ever do that?”

“Because I did something _stupid_ !” Bee shouted. “I did something really, _really_ stupid, and- I’m assuming- illegal!”

Optimus hesitated, waiting for Bumblebee to calm down a little more. Bumblebee wasn’t crying as much now, but his vents were still uneven. He wasn’t sure if he had stopped sobbing because he was calming down, or if it was because he didn’t have the energy to continue.

“What happened?” Optimus simply asked.

“I…” Bumblebee’s vocal synthesizer gave out on him. He looked away from the Prime. “I can’t tell you.”

“Of course you can,” Optimus softly reassured him.

“No, I really, really can’t,” Bumblebee replied. “I know I’ve done dumb things in the past, but I’m not kidding when I say this is dumb.”

Optimus offered him a smile. “Bee, I’m going to be here for you no matter what you’ve done.”

“Not after I tell you this.”

“Try me.”

“You’re gonna hate me.”

“I would never.”

“You’re gonna _kill_ me.”

“Never.”

Bumblebee let out a loud groan and fell back against his berth. He put his servos over his face and resisted the urge to scream into them. Optimus just patiently sat there, waiting for him to speak.

Bumblebee murmured something. Optimus raised an optic ridge. “I didn’t quite catch that.”

“I said-!” Bumblebee immediately sat up and raised his voice just to lower it once more. “I said I… I’ve been hanging out with Blitzwing.”

Optimus’ intake opened and sort of just hung open for a moment. He seemed to be trying to process what he had just heard. Bee groaned again.

“I don’t know!” he half-shrieked. “We just… we met once or twice and then it started becoming this regular thing- I didn’t mean for it to become a whole thing, but it just did.”

Optimus spent a nanoklik searching for something to say. “When you say you were… ‘hanging out’, what exactly do you mean by that?”

“I mean we just… hung out,” Bee nervously said. “We just talked about stuff and joked around.”

“That’s it?”

“I mean… yeah?”

“He wasn’t… trying to convert you into a Decepticon? Or get any information out of you?”

“No!” Bee exclaimed. He sounded offended, but he wasn’t sure if he really was. “We never… talked about any of that. I mean he did talk about Lugnut and how annoying he was, and I talked about you guys sometimes, and we talked about our sparkling-hoods and stuff but like… it wasn’t ever about Autobot-Decepticon stuff. We were just… talking.”

“You were friends?” Optimus asked, looking for clarification.

“I… think so?” Bumblebee laid back against his berth again. “I never really… neither of us really thought about it that far, I guess. I think it was just nice for both of us to have someone to talk to. I mean, I at least have you guys, but Blitzwing doesn’t really have anyone. I think he was just lonely.”

Optimus rubbed his chin. “To be fair, this isn’t… as bad as I expected it to be.”

“You don’t hate me?”

“ _Of course_ I don’t. It’s not like you were giving out information to the Decepticons,” Optimus said with a shrug. “You just made a friend… a friend who happens to be a _Decepticon_ , and some bots might find that a crime, but I don’t.”

Bumblebee felt a bit of relief at that. At least Boss-bot didn’t hate him. The others still had the possibility of hating him though, but at least his leader was okay with what he had done. It gave him the smallest sense of security.

“ _Oh._ ” Optimus sighed and then pinched his nasal ridge. “Oh, _that’s_ why you’ve been so upset. Blitzwing-”

“-is going to the stockades,” Bumblebee grumbled. “Yeah. I know.”

There was an awkward moment of silence. Bumblebee turned his helm to stare up at the ceiling. He felt his spark twist again. Sure, he had at least gotten this secret off his chest, but that didn’t change the circumstances of his situation.

“You know,” Bumblebee murmured, catching Optimus’ attention again. “When Blitzwing first stopped showing up, I didn’t really care. Like, I was a little mad about it, but I was okay with not hanging out with him because I thought he had _decided_ not to see me anymore… but then you guys said he got captured and I figured out that he didn’t _choose_ to stop seeing me; he got _taken_ from me- and I’m not okay with that! I’m not okay with the fact that we’re never going to see eachother again. I’m not okay with the fact that I didn't even… that I didn’t even get to say goodbye.”

Optimus went silent. Bumblebee refused to look at him. He didn’t want to see Optimus’ face after he had said something like that.

“Not that it’s any of my business, but it sounds to me like you think of Blitzwing as more than just a friend,” he finally said, breaking the silence.

Bee nervously bit his lip.

“Yeah.. yeah, I think I do.” He sighed. “...really unfortunate time for me to realize that.”

Optimus offered him a sympathetic gaze and placed a servo on his pede. “Bumblebee, I’m sorry. I wish there was something I could do.”

“S’fine,” Bumblebee slurred. He rolled onto his side. “I should’ve known what I was getting myself into.”

Bumblebee was exhausted, but he was trying to stay awake long enough for Optimus to leave.

“Do you want me to tell the others?” the Prime suddenly asked.

Bumblebee hesitated. “Not really, but if you think they should know, go ahead.”

“I’ll keep it between us,” he replied. “Is there anything I can do for you?”

“No,” Bee muttered. “But thanks. I just want to recharge right now.”

“Okay… thank you for telling me, by the way.” Bumblebee felt Optimus get up. “I’m sorry that I can’t be of any more help.”

“It’s alright. Thanks for not getting mad at me.”

“Of course.”

Bumblebee stayed awake long enough to hear Optimus leave and shut the door behind him. After that, he slipped into stasis.


	2. Chapter 2

The Elite Guard was leaving today. Bumblebee felt empty.

Talking to Optimus had helped, and he probably felt better than he would have if he hadn’t, but he still hurt. Optimus drove along next to him on their way to the ship and still remained close to him when they came onboard. They were there to gather a few more supplies before the Elite Guard left, as well as to say their goodbyes.

Sentinel was a bit quieter than usual, probably still rattled up from seeing Blackarachnia, but was still his pissy self and was exchanging a few words with Optimus and Ratchet. Prowl was clearly trying to spend as much time as he could with Jazz before he left, and Jetfire and Jetstorm were being buddy-buddy with Bulkhead. Bee stood on the sidelines, trying to not make it too obvious that he was upset. He glanced up once more and was surprised to see that Ratchet was the only one talking to Sentinel now. Before he could figure out where Optimus went, he was being dragged down a hallway by someone- who he quickly realized was Optimus.

“ _ Hey _ ! What are you-”

“Keep your voice down!” Optimus warned as quietly as he could. “We don’t have much time until the others leave, and even less time until Sentinel realizes we're missing, so listen to me  _ very closely _ .”

Bumblebee nodded as best he could as Optimus continued to rush down the corridors.

“I’m going to let you say goodbye to Blitzwing,” the Prime finally told him.

Bumblebee’s spark nearly stopped right then and there.

“You don’t have a lot of time, but I’m assuming it’s better than nothing,” Optimus continued. “I’ll try to buy you as much time as I can, but it won’t be anymore than a couple of cycles. I’ll give you a heads-up whenever it’s time to go.”

Optimus opened the door to the brig and hurried inside with Bumblebee. He made his way to Blitzwing’s cell and didn’t hesitate to type in the code to unlock and open it. Blitzwing’s helm immediately shot up as he realized his cell was open. He stared right at Bumblebee with wide optics. Bee just stared back, unsure of what else to do.

“Please don’t do anything stupid,” Optimus murmured.

Bee barely acknowledged what Prime said, as he was still too awestruck that Blitzwing was in front of him. Fortunately, Optimus quickly headed out, leaving Bee alone with him.

Bumblebee stumbled forward, tripping over his own pedes, and ended up standing in front of Blitzwing. Their ridiculous height difference meant that Bee was at optic level with the Decepticon, even though he was sitting. Bumblebee fumbled with the mouth clamp and eventually got it off. Blitzwing opened his intake to stretch his jaw.

“You Autobots do not make those things comfortable,” he grumbled.

Bumblebee just smiled. He had forgotten how much he missed that voice. And that face. Then his face changed- something else Bumblebee forgot he had missed.

“So, is this a breakout?” Blitzwing exclaimed. “Ooo, this will be  _ fun _ ! I’ve always wanted-”

Bumblebee panickingly slapped his servo over Blitzwing’s mouth. “Shhh! Are you  _ trying _ to get us caught?!”

Blitzwing pulled away from Bee’s servo, and his face changed. Bumblebee was given a cold glare. He sighed.

“Sorry, I’m just nervous.” He plopped down into Blitzwing’s lap. He used to find it embarrassing when Blitzwing would scoop him up and set him down on his lap, but he couldn’t think of a better place to be right now. “And, no, this isn’t a breakout. As much as I’d love to get you out of here, it’d be a lot more trouble than it’s worth. Plus, I don’t think we could outrun the Elite Guard. As dumb as Sentinel is, he’d figure out a way to get his servos on us one way or another.”

Blitzwing frowned. His face switched again.

“Then why _ are  _ you here,  _ bug _ ?” he snapped. “To rub it in my face that I got caught? To call me dumb for hanging out with you at all in the first place?!”

“Of course not!” Bee exclaimed. He hesitated, and then crossed his arms and pressed his forehelm against Blitz’s chest plates. “I wanted to say goodbye.”

Bumblebee heard a soft whirr and click.

“Really?” His voice was so soft that Bee barely heard what he had said.

“I know there’s nothing I can do to stop you from leaving, so I thought being able to say goodbye might make it hurt a little less.” Bumblebee looked up at him. “I don’t think it will, but it is really,  _ really _ nice to see you again.”

Blitzwing hesitated, but then smiled. “It’s nice to see you too, Bee.”

The smaller mech just dumbly smiled at him for a moment. It was so, so good to just be with him- just sit in his lap and be with Blitzwing. It was something he hadn’t really appreciated before. He wish he had.

“I’m sorry I can’t get you out of here.”

“You don’t need to be sorry. You’re right. It would be more trouble than it’s worth.”

“Are you gonna be okay?”

Blitzwing wavered. “I wish I could tell you I will, but I don’t know.”

Bumblebee held back a sigh and pout. He instead pressed his face into Blitzwing’s chest again. He wrapped his arms around the ‘con as best he could. Blitzwing unfortunately couldn’t reciprocate because of his stasis cuffs- which Bee wasn’t taking off because they’d be a pain in the aft to put back on- but he tried to press into the embrace as much as he could.

“I know I probably should’ve told you this a long time ago, but I guess it’s better now than never.” Bumblebee sat back and stood up to be at optic-level with Blitzwing. He was about a servo-length away from the other’s face. “You mean a lot to me. Like- so much so that I can’t even really find the words to explain it? Hanging out with you and talking to you and getting to know you has made me so happy in a way that I’ve never felt with anyone else before. I don’t know if you feel the same, but… I feel like you deserve to know.”  
Blitzwing blinked. He faltered for a moment, his vocal synthesizer seeming to falter on what to say.

“Those feelings are more than mutual, Bee,” he softly said. “You have no idea how happy I am to hear that.”

_ Whirr, click! _

“And here I was worried I was the only one! How silly of me!”

Bumblebee snickered. He reached up to cover his face, not wanting the Decepticon to make some stupid comment about his smile or laugh. Blitzwing had that dumb, jagged grin plastered on his face and was just staring at him with half-lidded optics. His face changed once more as they both calmed down. Bumblebee leaned forward just close enough to rest their nasal ridges together.

“I love you,” Bumblebee finally said. It was so soft he wasn’t sure if it had actually escaped his intake at all. “Isn’t that weird?”  
Blitzwing shrugged and smiled. “I’ve heard weirder. Oh, and I love you, too, by the way.”

Bumblebee laughed again. He instinctively pressed in closer to muffle his laugh, but that ended up pressing their lips together. He didn’t pull away though, and neither did Blitzwing. The kiss was awkward for a moment, but they soon figured out what they were doing and it turned soft. Bumblebee had kissed a few bots before, but it was nothing like this. It was serious and meaningful. It felt so good, beyond just the physical sense. His spark felt light and fluttery like it never had before. As he pulled away to vent, he just kept smiling.

“I know timing has never been your thing, but I think this is the worst timed thing you’ve ever done,” Blitzwing muttered and then chuckled. Bumblebee did too, but it hurt. He felt coolant gathering in his optics.

“I know,” he managed to choke out. He gave Blitzwing another quick kiss. “I know. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Blitzwing replied. His voice was so low and soft. “I’m just happy I got hear it at all. Like you said: better now than never.”

Bumblebee smiled.

“ _ Time’s up. You got about five clicks to get out of there. I’m sorry to tell you so abruptly. _ ”

Bumblebee vented. He had gotten a lot of bad comms in his life, but that easily one the title of the worst one.

“I have to go,” Bumblebee forced himself to say. “Maybe one day, this whole Autobot-Decepticon thing will be over, and they’ll set you free and we can be together.”

Blitzwing smiled. “That’s a nice thought, Bee.”

“If that doesn't happen, I’ll just have to break into the stockades to see you,” he matter-of-factly said and crossed his arms. “Or I’ll just do something stupid and get myself arrested and hope that I’ll be put in a cell near you.”

_ Whirr, click! _

“If you do either of those things, I will break out of my cell and stomp you into the ground,” Blitzwing spat. “Don’t do something stupid… for me, at least. Being stupid seems to just be in your coding, but don’t be  _ that _ stupid, got it?”

Bumblebee laughed, getting closer to just full on crying. He managed to nod.

“I love you,” Blitzwing said. His face changed. “I’m so glad I got to see you one more time.”

“Me too,” Bumblebee murmured. He reached down to grab the mouth clamp he had taken off of Blitzwing. “I love you, too. I’m sorry your last memory of me is going to be of me putting a mouth clamp on you.”

“There could be worse ways to remember you.”

Bumblebee shook his head and kissed Blitzwing one more time… and then another one, just for good measure. All he could feel was his spark aching as he put back on the mouth clamp.

“I love you,” Bumblebee told him as he stepped out of the cell. “I’m so glad I ever got to meet you. Thanks for everything.”

Everything blurred together after he closed Blitzwing’s cell and started to walk back to the others. He managed to keep it together and put on a face that made him look like he wasn’t just about to start sobbing. Fortunately, everyone was too busy listening to Sentinel yell about something to notice him coming in. Bumblebee quickly took a place next to Optimus’ side. The Prime looked down at him and smiled. Bumblebee managed to give him half of one in return.

A few more things were said and materials were gathered before they left the ship. Once outside, they gave their final farewells before Sentinel and the others got back on board. Before he knew it, the ship was gone, as well as Blitzwing.

Bumblebee had been glued to Optimus’ side ever since he returned. The others were busy putting some of the supplies they had gathered into Bulkhead’s alt-mode while Optimus had fallen back to stand with Bumblebee. 

“Did it go okay?” Optimus asked. “Not that it’s… any of my business. I just thought I’d ask.”

“It went good,” Bee simply replied. “Thanks, by the way. You didn’t have to do that, but you did, and that means a lot to me.”

“Of course, Bumblebee,” Optimus said with a smile. “I hope that gave you at least a little bit of closure.”

Bumblebee blinked. “And you’re still not mad at me for… having a relationship with a Decepticon?”

Optimus shrugged. “I guess there’s worse things you could do.”

There was an awkward moment of silence.

“Are you going to be okay?” the Prime asked.

Bumblebee opened his intake to speak, but his vocal synthesizer failed him. He reached up to wipe away the coolant that had escaped his optics. Bumblebee tensed up as he felt Optimus place a servo on his shoulder, but then relaxed into the touch.

“That was a dumb question. I’m sorry,” he said, shaking his head. “I don’t expect you to be okay, and that’s okay. You can take as much time as you need to grieve. I’m here for you, and if you want the others to be there for you too, I can tell them. They care about you as much as I do, Bee. We’re a family. We’ll be there for you no matter what.”

Bumblebee just nodded in acknowledgement. He wasn’t sure that he’d ever be okay. He wasn’t sure if there would be a solarcycle that went by where he didn’t think or worry about Blitzwing. He could only hope that someday, by some wild chance, they’d get to be together again. Aspirations like that stung, but they plagued Bumblebee’s processor. No matter what happened, he at least took some comfort in knowing his team would be there for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aand wow i actually finished something i started working on! what a shocker!  
> ive had this idea in my head since like,,, june so im really happy to finally get it out into the world! its not perfect, but im just glad to be able to share it with people  
> hope y'all enjoyed! i don't usually write more bittersweet things like this, but this idea was plaguing me and i just had to write it

**Author's Note:**

> there will be a second chapter of this!! just thought i'd post this half for now uwu


End file.
